The Pacific
Coast Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league in
western Canada, operating from 1911 to 1924 when it merged with
the Western Canada Hockey League. During this time, the PCHL was
considered to be one of the major leagues of hockey.

The PCHA was founded by Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick with
three teams: the New Westminster Royals, the Victoria
Aristocrats, and the Vancouver Millionaires. Although they did
not challenge for the Stanley Cup the first year, the defeat of
the 1913 Stanley Cup champion Quebec Bulldogs in an exhibition
series (it would have been an official series had the Bulldogs
decided to put the Cup on the line) by the Aristocrats gave the
league a good deal of status. An agreement between the National
Hockey Association and the PCHA was made in 1915 where the two
league champions would face each other for the Stanley Cup. That
year also saw the first Stanley Cup champions from the PCHA, when
the Millionaires defeated the Ottawa Senators in a best-of-five
series.

1916 saw the first American team, the Portland Rosebuds (formerly
the Royals) playing for the Stanley Cup, while the Seattle
Metropolitans was the first American team to win the Stanley Cup
the following year.

In 1921, the Western Canada Hockey League, another western major
league of hockey, was formed, and the Stanley Cup playoffs was
modified to include teams from the WCHL. The following two years,
which would turn out to be the last two years of the PCHA, the
league played interleague games with the WCHA. Interestingly, the
last year of the PCHA had the three remaining teams all finish
with under-.500 records.

In 1924, the Vancouver Maroons folded, and the two remaining
teams joined the Western Hockey League (formerly the WCHL),
ending the life of the PCHA. The Victoria Cougars would win the
Stanley Cup in 1925, but this win would be the last by a non-NHL
team, and the last by a team from the west for a long time. This
new league would also not last long, as the WHL were unable to
match the

NHL's American expansion and their player salaries, which led the
Patrick brothers to sell players or, in the case of the Portland
Rosebuds (not to be confused with the Rosebuds of the PCHA) and
the Victoria Cougars, the team itself. The Rosebuds would become
the present-day Chicago Black Hawks, while the Cougars became the
modern-day Detroit Red Wings.

The Pacific
Coast Hockey League (PCHL) Operated in three periods between the
late 1920's and the early 1950's (1928-1931 and 1936-1941 and 1945-1952).
In 1952 it merged with the Western Canada Senior Hockey League to
form the Western Hockey League (WHL).

1928 - 1931: Consisted of a four team league that started with
the Portland Buckaroos, Seattle Eskimos, Vancouver Lions and
Victoria Cubs. The Victoria franchise folded and was replaced by
the Tacoma Tigers in the final season of this version of the
league.

1936 - 1941: Again, the League included four teams: The
Oakland Clippers (which became the Spokane Clippers during the
first season), Portland Buckaroos, Seattle Seahawks and Vancouver
Lions. The Spokane Clippers missed the 1939-40 season but
returned as the Spokane Bombers for the 1940-41 season.

1945 - 1952: After World War II, the League re-emerged as a
larger (two division/nine team) set up, with a maximum of eleven
teams in 1946-1947 & 1949-1950. In the 1945-1946 season there was a
North Division (New Westminster Royals, Portland Eagles, Seattle
Ironmen & Vancouver Canucks) and a South Division (Hollywood
Wolves, Los Angeles Monarchs, Oakland Oaks, San Diego Skyhawks
and San Francisco Shamrocks). The Fresno Falcons and the Tacoma
Rockets joined the league in time for the 1946-1947 season. The
Hollywood Wolves however did not return for the 1947-1948 season
and the Portland Eagles became the Portland Penguins in 1948-1949.
The Victoria Cougars joined the league for the 1949-1950 season but
the Oakland Oaks folded in December 1949 just 29 game into the
season. The League then was reduced to a single Division and six
teams for the 1950-1951 season (the Fresno Falcons left to join
the United States Hockey League and the Los Angeles Monarchs, San
Diego Skyhawks & San Francisco Shamrocks dropped out). The
Portland Penguins changed their name back to the Portland Eagles.
In the final season (1951-1952), the Portland Eagles dropped out
and the Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Flyers and Saskatoon Quakers
joined from the Western Canada Senior Hockey League.

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